As the New Year gets closer and closer, the Scarlet Knight-Herons are in various places and states of mind. David and his family will be moving to Wisconsin within the next month. Blake and his wife are now living in Ohio. After three years and seven different Ecology & Evolution team members, the team needs to rework their strategy and their team.

Last year we competed in the Carbon Footprint Cup by riding bicycles around Cape Island. This year we may again opt to avoid the state-wide competition. Perhaps the county-wide LGA competition is in the cards? Strategizing will begin soon - and we may even recruit a new teammate or two!

The Scarlet Knight-Herons have completed their third World Series of Birding!

We competed in both the Carbon Footprint (only walking and biking) and Cape Island Cup (birding on Cape Island south of the canal) categories. We managed to log over 43 miles in the limited geographic area south of the Cape May Canal, and finished the day with 104 different species of birds seen and/or heard.

Our first bird of the big day was an Eastern Screech Owl calling at midnight - a pretty exciting start! For the next four hours, we biked more than 10 miles and added a grand total of 3 birds (not counting all of the mockingbird imitations). We were also asked by a drunken resident if we were forming a militia, and if he could join us - that has to count for something, right? Finally, as dawn approached, the Meadows started to produce some new birds. Virginia Rail and Common Moorhen finally called after more than an hour of waiting. Yellow-Breasted Chat, Killdeer and American Oystercatchers began to vocalize, and eventually swallows and martins began their morning activities. We headed out to dunes and eventually the beach, spotting gulls, a Northern Gannet, Sanderlings, and a number of other species.

From the Meadows we headed north to New England Road. Birding our way to Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area, we saw/heard Prairie Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole, Bald Eagle, Black-and-White Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak. The fields at Higbee produced a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Indigo Buntings, a Blue-Headed Vireo, and finally a Veery singing deep in the woods.

Pond Creek Marsh was our next stop, where we identified a Boat-Tailed Grackle as well as a Belted Kingfisher flying over just as we were about to leave. The next leg of our route took us on a long ride across the island to the eastern tip - the Coast Guard Station. Here we added Brant, Red Knot, Bonaparte's Gull, and Common Loon to our list. Finally, after mid-day, we had a trio of American Goldfinch fly into a tree on the side of the road.

The cloudy skies began to produce some precipitation, so we made a lunch a bit longer than we normally would have. The rain never became a downpour, though, so we set out back to the western side of the island to continue birding. We quickly stopped at the 2nd Ave jetty to search for the Glaucous Gull seen earlier in the week, but it was nowhere to be found. We'd have to be happy with the Surf Scoter we added.

Instead of scanning for raptors at Stevens Street, we decided instead to search for birds around Lily Lake. It turned out to be a wise decision, as we found Northern Parula, Northern Waterthrush, Great Blue Heron, and Eastern Towhee. Magnola Warbler was spotted briefly, but only by one team member. We couldn't count it on our final list. We could, however, count the Parasitic Jaegers found off the coast at the St. Peter's dune crossing. At one point we had five individual jaegers harassing a Laughing Gull! It was quite a spectacle.

The Cape May Point State Park produced our only Ring-Billed Gull of the day, as well as American Coot. We decided to end the day at the Meadows, again scanning the ocean and dunes for birds. Finally, exhausted, we headed to the finish line to hand in our final tally.

Southeast winds made the island a difficult place to find migrants, and our total of 104 species was not the only low count of the day. The winners of the Cape Island Cup, Crazy Monkey's Bird Collection Team, had a total of 121 species, the lowest ever for a winning Cape Island Cup team.

More importantly than the number of birds tallied, we were able to raise money for conservation and graduate research, have a good time with great people, and in some small way honor our late teammate, Charlie Kontos.

Thank you to everyone who supported us! We hope to be back again next year!The Scarlet Knight-HeronsBill Lynch, David La Puma, Ben Baiser, and Blake Mathys

With only a few short weeks remaining before the event, your favorite team has rallied and is back for another go! For the third straight year, the Scarlet Knight-Herons will be participating in the 28th Annual World Series of Birding!This year we’ve got a new team and entirely new challenges to face.Team captain Brian Clough and last year’s newbie Derek Lovitch won’t be able to make the event this year, so founding members Bill Lynch and David La Puma have recruited Ben Baiser, another alum from the Ecology & Evolution Graduate Program at Rutgers University.

Unlike previous years, where we participated in the state-wide competition, this year we will be staying south of the Cape May Canal.To make things a bit interesting, and to keep in-line with our values and ideals as conservationists, we’ve decided to eliminate motorized vehicles this year and compete entirely on bicycles and by foot.

Once again, we will be raising money for the EcoGSA, the graduate student association which offers E&E students research grants, assistance in attending academic conferences, as well as an outlet to build community and foster awareness for the problems and issues facing us all.If you would like to donate, you can find a PayPal link to the right.You can also contact one of us directly if you’d prefer to mail a check (this also ensures that your full amount will be donated – PayPal skims a bit off the top during the transaction).

Of course we greatly appreciate any financial and/or moral support our friends and family can offer.Please check back here, on our other blogs, and on our Twitter accounts for updates leading up to, possibly during, and certainly after the big day!

In terrible news, Scarlet Knight-Herons member Charlie Kontos passed away earlier this week. Charlie was a 2nd-year student in the Ecology and Evolution graduate program at Rutgers. You can view his fisher website at http://njfishers.org

Charlie will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. He was always wearing a smile and his positive, outgoing attitude were contagious.

Funeral arrangments are tentative right now, but the dates are as follows:Tuesday: viewing at Costello-Greiner Funeral Home in Woodbridge, NJWednesday: funeral

Charlie´s family has asked that no flowers be sent - a memorial fund will be created in Charlie´s name. Further details to come for those who are interested.

RIP, buddy. I don´t know how we´re going to stay sane during those long World Series drives without you.

With less than 7 hours until the 2010 World Series of Birding, teams are gathering in their war rooms and going over potential strategies. How many teams will start at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge? It's been a staple in the past, but new regulations mean teams will have to walk in from the road as opposed to being able to drive in. That may change some game plans and send teams elsewhere.

What about the middle of the day? Our current plan is to head south from Sussex County until we hit Heislerville Wildlife Management Area, but strong migration and impressive reports from migrant traps has us hesitating and considering other options. There can't be any second guessing once we make our decision, though. Every second counts.

Piping Plover, Photo by Bill Lynch (c) 2010

Please consider supporting our team and the cause of conservation in New Jersey by donating! You can use the PayPal link on the right or donate directly to one of our team members. ALL donations will go directly to the New Jersey Audubon Society.

Thanks for your support, everyone! Wish us luck. We'll have reports and results posted here following the big day. Follow @woodcreeper and @Billtacular on Twitter for updates during and following the event.